


Her Name

by Xilianr



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xilianr/pseuds/Xilianr
Summary: Sephiroth relished the days he spent training with Genesis and his pupil Xilianr. What they did not know was that she had a secret she was yearning to tell them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The nature of the story made it a disaster to read as a character insert. The name is the only portion of the OC I have filled in so one can read this as a Reader insert by filling in the preferred nicknames, pet names, and abbreviated names. The OC is intentionally left hollow for this reason.

Sephiroth smiled to him self once he heard them coming down the hall. This was the second week in a row that he had been able to train with Genesis and Xilianr. Sephiroth was sure that Genesis had invited him purely to aid the Director in convincing him to take on a prodigy himself. The constant bickering between the two also made Sephiroth wonder if Genesis had not been hoping he would snatch Xilianr out from under him. By the sounds of it now they were already well into another squabble. As the pair arrived at the training room door Sephiroth could tell this was a little more serious of a row than they normally had.

“You are not going to talk me out of this Genesis. I’ve made up my mind about it and that is that. Maybe we should just pass on training if you are going to just rattle on like this.” Xilianr growled. Sephiroth sighed as Genesis threw his hands up, turned on his heel, and stormed off.

“Should I even ask why you two are fighting?” Sephiroth queried. Xilianr looked up into Sephiroth’s eyes for a long moment. No flinching or wavering under his intense stare. Sephiroth was always impressed with how easily she seemed to hold his gaze. Most of the 2nd Classes had a real problem with it. Not her, nor Zack. Actually that was it, Sephiroth realized. She must have seen something in his expression that he hadn’t expected because her expression softened slightly.

“Sorry, I should tell you. I owe you an explanation at the very least. After all you came all the way down here for nothing now.” She said, her face dropping from some fresh awkwardness.

“Oh? You mean you don’t want to train with me?” Sephiroth asked with a smirk. He knew how much she enjoyed their training. Just because Genesis was been a child did not mean they could not run the course together. The sudden flash of elation was swallowed up by a deep sorrow in her eyes.

“You might be mad too. I won’t blame you if you don’t want to train with me either after I tell you.” Xilianr said with an uncharacteristic meekness.

“Hm, is that so? Well you had better just tell me then. No point in dragging this out.” Sephiroth coaxed. How very unlike her to act so timid.

“I receiveda request to join the Turks. I’ve accepted. Genesis is livid. He says I am throwing away my career by joining them. What…”She swallowed hard, looked up right into the tall mans eyes and continued. “What do you think? Will I really be wasting my efforts?”

Her gaze did not break this time. She looked nervous and seemed willing to let Sephiroth see that his opinion counted this much to her. More than Genesis’ had mattered, he realized.

“You shouldn’t let Genesis get to you about this. It is up to you to choose what you become. Come to think of it, I’ve been working a lot with the Turks as of late. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up on missions together regardless of your being SOLDIER or Turks. Mostly I just see it as a problem for training together as much. You won’t be working under Genesis anymore. He’ll need a new pupil. He is going to hate that. I don’t think that is your responsibility though.” Sephiroth said with as much approval as he could muster. The truth is he was disappointed that they would not be training together any more. All the more reason to not pass on this possible last chance. “We should get started on the mission if we are going tonight. I’d prefer not to sleep in the simulation room.” He forced a chuckle, hoping it sold his lack of concern about her job choices.

Xilianr smiled weakly and nodded once. Maybe she was looking to get talked out of it? Had she expected him to say she was too good of a SOLDIER to just leave? Being a Turk would be a major pay boost and with her skill set Xil should have been in the turks camp from the word go. The only possible reasons for him to say she should stay would be personal reasons. Was that it? Xilianr turned and walked into the simulator, not waiting to see if Sephiroth would follow.

 

**

 

The training mission went easily as they always did for them. Genesis had started really pushing the difficulty settings to the extremes a week ago and still they were always victorious without and real risks taken. Xil kept up and did exactly what was needed. Normally after the training Genesis would have walked off with Xil, telling her what she had done right, where to push for improvement. Without Genesis here however, Sephiroth found himself wondering what to say. She had not made a single mistake he had noticed and she had been told to work on her evasion skills as a default area that everyone could improve on. Her head was hung down, looking at the floor, as the silence stretched on longer than it should between them. “I am not as good an instructor as Genesis it seems. I’m not really sure what to tell you to work on after that, your skills seem balanced enough.” Sephiroth forced out. Why was he getting quiet now? “When do you start working with the Turks? Who is your new mentor?”

Xil looked up at him then, a smile on her face. If Sephiroth had not really been looking he might not have noticed it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m starting in the morning. No mentor, just jumping right in on a job with Rude. I’m betting Reno will be there as I can’t see the company splitting up that team for anything.” She said in a tone that was trying for cheerful. Maybe she is just nervous. This is a new type of work for her after all.

The door to the simulation room opened and in walked the two men in question; Rude slick and still in his sunglasses and Reno looking as haphazard as ever. “Heeey, Xilianr! We’ve been look’n everywhere for you.” Reno called from the entryway. Sephiroth realized too late his expression must have been rather unpleasant as both Turks stepped back slightly when he looked toward them.

“I’ll let you get to work, Xil.” Sephiroth said in a calm tone.

Turning back to look at her, Sephiroth was startled by the arms suddenly wrapping around him in a hug. “Thanks for training with me one more time, Sephiroth. Maybe we can do it again once I’m back if we’re both free?” She let go and without waiting for a reply left with the pair hurrying behind her. She did not look back, and he was glad. She might have seen the flash of sorrow in his eyes.

 

 

**

 

Three weeks had gone by and still Genesis was sulking. To be fair she had waited until the last possible second to tell him he would need to find a new student. The Director had stopped hounding Sephiroth to take up a student and focused once again on Genesis. Genesis had given in once already, after all. Sephiroth had not heard how the first job had gone but he had seen Xilianr talking, laughing, with Reno and Rude just the other day, so it could not have gone too badly. Genesis just sat with his copy of Loveless unopened in his hand, staring into space. Sephiroth was starting to think Genesis should have told her how he felt if he was going to act like such a love sick fool about it. Not his place to force the matter though.

The door to the simulator opened and Sephiroth heard the excited tones before he could clearly understand what was being said. “I’m sure they are going to love teaching you everything they know! All the SOLDIER 1st Classes are so skilled that just being around them makes you get better.” Sephiroth recognized Xilianr’s voice.

“I’m so nervous to meet them though! I mean they are so handsome and they are the best of the best! I’m not even sure what to say to them.” This voice Sephiroth did not recognize. A woman, on the younger side maybe. Genesis was hearing this as well and seemed even less interested in the approaching voices.

“I’ll admit they can be intimidating. These two are the best SOLDIER has to offer and they push each other to go further. Oh! And if Angeal and Zack are around don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. The guys can get a bit overzealous and really charge in. Especially Zack and Genesis… They are more impulsive than Sephiroth and Angeal. Just push yourself to keep up, and you’ll be fine.” Xilianr said with confidence. Genesis has slid the book away in anticipation of the girls entering view. They did not.

“Are you sure they won’t be annoyed we just came in, Xilianr?” The new student asked with worry. So was this unexpected or had Genesis known about the new student’s intention of meeting him here? Sephiroth knew Genesis well enough to suspect either to be the case. “What about the hero _Sephiroth_?” Whispered the girl a little too loud considering the actual size of the room.

Xilianr let out a long sigh. “Sephiroth will be the most terrifying person you have ever met. You will probably squirm under his gaze like every other 3rd Class SOLDIER ever. Just remember he respects actions more than words and will not accept excuses. He is unyielding and fierce in battle and you’ll find it a challenge just to keep up. He might not be around much, to be honest. He is super busy most of the time. Mostly you are going to be training with just Genesis.” Xilianr said in a comforting tone. 

“You trained with both of them a bunch though! I heard Reno talking you up to some of the other SOLDIERs!” the excitement was almost a giddy squeal.

“Reno was talking about me huh?” growled Xilianr.

“It was all nice stuff! Honest! He sounded proud even. He was saying how impressed he was you could handle being around Sephiroth so much. I think Reno is a bit scared of him.”The girl attempted to recover.

“Well, _Reno_ has plenty to be scared of. He better not be running his mouth too much… But here! Let’s get you introduced.” Xilianr said appearing around the corner at last.

The SOLDIER 3rd Class she had in tow looked very green. She was in the mandatory blue SOLDIER uniform, saber fresh and shining on her back. Her hair was tied back and the look on her face was one suffering from total intimidation. Xilianr was standing at her side holding her arm as if she had been dragging the smaller woman.

The standard Turks uniform looked good on Xilianr. Fitted suit, gunblade on her back, only… Yes she was still wearing the SOLDIER issue boots. Sephiroth recalled the first time they had gone out on the field with her, how she had been beaming about ‘the superior traction and support’ the boots gave. She had never fallen behind the whole time, she was actually faster than Genesis, Sephiroth was positive. Sephiroth had to look again to be sure, but yes there were now more weapons on her. He spotted the telltale shadow of some daggers and the gloves on her hands looked more threatening than the standard leather the Turks issue. She looked fuller somehow., like she was just more as a Turk. Genesis had caught his breath seeing her. Was this the first he had seen of her since that fight three weeks ago?

“Hello Xil.” Sephiroth broke the silence. The girls were still right at the corner, the student had stopped dead seeing her instructor and the ‘Hero’. “Who have you got there? Did I hear correctly that this is to be Genesis’ new student?” He tried to keep the tone pleasant. Scaring away Genesis’ new pupil might have been the reason for inviting him to the training room, and Sephiroth was too cantankerous to just let Genesis get away with that.

“Hey Sephiroth. Yeah, this is Genesis’ newest cadet. Marcy Sanders, SOLDIER 3rd Class.” Xilianr said, letting go of the girl and walking closer. Genesis stayed completely still as Xilianr started toward them.

A slight blush had taken to Genesis’ cheeks and Sephiroth wondered if it was best to ignore it or provoke the crimson poet. Xilianr decided for him. She walked right up to Genesis and hugged him tightly. She whispered something in his ear that even standing just a few feet away Sephiroth could not hear. Genesis then turned red. So red that Sephiroth thought the leather armor was losing its color by comparison. Xilianr pulled back, smiling wickedly as she gave Genesis a kiss on the cheek. Sephiroth felt a ping of jealousy before quickly squashing the heat creeping into his own cheeks.

Xilianr let go of Genesis and turned to the taller man. She took the one step to close the distance between them and hugged Sephiroth in a another tight embrace. This time Sephiroth hugged her back, gently. No need to start any scandalous rumors about her and them. “I’ve missed you. Sephiroth.” she whispered in his ear. Whatever his face might have been showing, he quickly got it back under control. By the time she kissed his cheek, he had his blank mask back in place. When she pulled back from the embrace he was even able to release her with ease.

Sephiroth chided himself for getting distracted, though. He had missed Genesis moving. Genesis had left his spot and gone over to the new trainee, introducing himself with a delicate handshake that told her he saw her as a woman, not just a pupil. The man could be a bit of a Casanova. The red face of Marcy told Sephiroth that she was in for an awkwardly flirtatious future. Poor girl. Xilianr seemed to conclude the same as she simply sighed her resignation to the show. Genesis used a sly smile and coaxing laugh to get the new trainee to laugh and smile and the fear of meeting him seemed to melt away.

Xilianr turned back to Sephiroth and with a somewhat wry look said “Try not to scare her too much. She is very green to combat and I think Genesis only picked her because of her father’s hounding the Director about it for the last few months. The executive had actually been asking for you to train her. I blame Reno for jabbering about your training with me. Don’t worry though, I’ll take care of my fellow Turk and his big mouth.” Her hand made a tight enough fist he could hear the leather complain.

The door to the training room opened and Sephiroth heard footsteps running toward them. Zack burst around the corner, dust and grime on his arms and clothing told Sephiroth there was a battle going on near by. “Guys! Hurry! There are a ton of Wutai forces storming the labs! Nearly half the specimens in the research hold have been released!” The black haired SOLDIER 2nd Class rushed. “Angeal says he needs back up NOW!” Zack yelled as he was skidding into a turn to run back the way he came. Without talking the four followed Zack, running toward the sound of battle.

An explosion rocked the floor stumbling them. Xilianr fell back slightly, but Sephiroth caught her shoulder, keeping her balanced so she did not lose a step. As they cleared the end of the hall, looking down the next alcove, it revealed what the explosion had done. A huge hole was in the wall of the lab allowing the madness to spill into the cafeteria on the other side.

Jumping into the fray Xilianr was using the two daggers instead of the gunblade secured to her back. She moved with blurring speed, ripping down dozens of flying creatures before they could reach the civilians. A larger swarm was coming up behind her, Sephiroth could see over her shoulder. Casting a firaga spell was the easiest solution and without need of words Sephiroth sent the spell slipping past Xilianr into the mass of vermin. The two worked in tandem without saying anything, keeping out of each other’s way and blocking the occasional assault on the other’s back. If the situation had not been so dire it might have been purely fun.

Sephiroth had a moment to feel sorry for Genesis, struggling to keep Marcy calm and direct her to get people out of danger. Talk about trial by fire.

“D!” Someone yelled. Xilianr caught a small item tossed to her. Sephiroth looked over and saw Reno and Rude helping Marcy get the lunching staff out of the way. Xilianr lobbed the item over some tables to a small swarm of armored looking samples with large claws and gaping mouths. The explosion that followed was large enough to knock them all back. Once again Sephiroth was there to catch her at the waist and keep her standing.

“A little too much pop in that one Reno!” She roared over her shoulder at the red head in goggles.

“Whoops, sorry about that,Domi. Next one will be a little more flash little less bang” The Turk replied. At what point was she going to correct him about her name? Mid battle probably was not the ideal moment to be sure.

The far wall buckled and crumbled with a crash. Through the dust a dark form rocketed into a small fountain. Sephiroth looks over at Angeal sitting up from his dip, looking well and truly angry. “Angeal!” Zack yells. “Where have you been?!”

“Did you know we have Behemoths on this floor?”Angeal asked no one in particular.

“Behemoth*s*, like with an S!?” Squeaked Marcy as a bellowing roar vibrated the room.

Three huge purple forms came through the hole Angeal had just made with his body. The SOLDIERs readied themselves. Everything would be a blur of battle after this.


	2. Chapter 2

Sephiroth took a breath and surveyed the aftermath. Despite some reckless explosives usage by Reno, and a half dozen behemoths charging around, all of the load baring structures were intact and no major damage had occurred to the floors. Convenient since there was a lot of building both above and below them. Xilianr was sitting with her new teammates, laughing and chiding Reno for nearly blowing them all up. Genesis was comforting a very scared and very pale Marcy. Maybe SOLDIER was not right for her after all. Zack was filling Angeal in on all he had missed. This seemed to require a lot of hand gestures and full body movements to properly explain. Angeal seemed to think it was hilarious at least, his laugh boomed through the silence settling on thebattle field.

Xilianr seemed to get tired of the after party first and was slowly moving to leave, the rest would be up to the repair crew. “Hey, Dominique, you really out did yourself today. Take it easy tonight and check in with Tseng in the morning. We might be moving out ASAP after this, so remember you have to be ready.”

Xilianr gave Reno a look that Sephiroth could not help but be a little proud of. Her face held a perfect balance of arrogant humor and wry annoyance, a Sephiroth trademark. “Reno, darling, when have I ever *not* been ready to go? I’m not some wet behind the ears rookie.”

Rude gave Reno a ‘how does that foot taste’ sort of look. “Don’t mind him Dom. Just look after yourself tonight.” Rude added, trying to defuse the fight Reno had started.

“Of course Rude, you guys take care too. I’ll probably be seeing you in the a.m.” Xilianr gave a small wave and turned to go. “Hey, Sephiroth?” She called over her shoulder.

“Yes Xil?” He replied, trying not to put any special emphasis on her name.

“Would you mind walking with me? I wanted to ask you a few things but I am beat and want to start for my room.” She asked. The tiredness she mentioned was creeping in around her eyes. At this rate she was going to have a rather tiring week, the least he could do was walk with her.

“Of course. No problem.”Sephiroth stood collecting Masamune and moving to meet her pace out of the door. As he passed them Sephiroth noticed Reno and Rude sort of shoving each other and whispering. Seemed there was some tension about their being left behind, or maybe it was that she requested his company. Either way they seemed put off, and he felt the smug smirk curl his lips.

Sephiroth caught up to her at the door to the elevators. She was leaning against the wallnext to the button to call the lift to their floor. Her eyes were closed, arms crossed over her chest, a frown pulling at the edges of her mouth. That was when he saw it. The dark suit and blood of so many monsters had made it easy to over look until now. Without a word or even a thought of how it would look if someone saw him, Sephiroth grabbed her coat and pulled it off briskly. Her blouse underneath had notably less monster blood on it and that left Sephiroth even more concerned about the growing patch of red on her shoulder.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, honest.” She said, not meeting his scalding gaze.

Once the elevator doors opened and the pair were inside Sephiroth found himself hesitating to press the button to go straight to the infirmary. She needed bandages at the least, maybe even stitches. She seemed to understand his hesitation though and simply hit the button to get her to her floor. He stood in silence, towering over her, he could shake her he was so frustrated. She had not told her team she was hurt, not to this extent, for sure. How could he explain the importance of telling them without yelling? Maybe if he-

“My name is Dominique. Dominique Mesman. Xilianr is a nickname I got from Rufus years ago when I was his personal bodyguard. If you could call it bodyguard work. Rufus doesn’t need guards to keep him safe. More like it’s everyone else that needs help dealing with him.” she let out in a rush. “I had been happy as a Turk but the whole process of being at his heel for nearly all of my life left me feeling… Beneath myself? It’s hard to describe. I loved the work but needed a change. SOLDIER seemed the way to go. I was a Turk first though. I’ve known Reno and Rude since they joined the ranks. I wanted to tell you sooner but… I was a coward. I didn’t know how you would react so I just didn’t say anything. I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked slightly at the end. “I’m sorry I left you, without even explaining why…” And at that the tears started falling.

Sephiroth is no softy and a crying woman would not make him fall all over himself to try and fix it, unlike certain other SOLDIERs with spiky black hair. All the same it was _his_ Xilianr standing there crying for slighting him. Oddly enough he did not feel offended. Discovering that they had known her first, known her longer, it made sense that they would have a bond as strong as they did. He slid his arms around her, hugging her to his chest. He gently rubbed her back while he tried to be careful of the wound on her upper shoulder.

They finally reached her floor and the doors opened to the dorm halls.Sephiroth knew the way to her room even though he had never been to it before. She was exhausted looking. The battle had not seemed to take this much out of her. Was there more she needed to say and the weight of it was dragging he down? She had said she had questions for him.

She opened the door to her studio style dorm that all SOLDIER 2nd Classes get. Sephiroth helped her to the couch and let her flop down. “Where is the med kit?” he demanded.

“Front closet.” was all she said. All the SOLDIER quarters were the same layout so there was no need for a tour. Sephiroth wondered if she had requested to keep the space, Turks often took up residence off site. Sephiroth did as well, in fact. He was close by, but not in the cramped dorms.

He retrieved the kit from the shelf and walked back to the couch, opening the kit as he moved. He looked it over, checking for a packet of necessities for stitching wounds, the cleaning solution, and packets of gauze with bandages. This would do. He placed the kit on the table in front of the couch. She had not moved after sitting. Sephiroth pulled off her sheaths and holster for her daggers and gunblade, setting them on the coffee table by the kit. He undid the buttons on the blouse, and paused. He tested the movement of her arm and when she flinched from a pain he sighed. Sephiroth slid one of her daggers from its home. Carefully slipping the blade under the cloth by the nape of her neck he cut the fabric down to the end. Gently he peeled the ruined top off her shoulder, the gore making it resistant to moving. He helped her shrug of the other half, leaving her in only her bra and a covering of blood. Sephiroth had to remind himself not to stare too long at anything but the hole torn down the back of her shoulder.

“Xil, it is going to need a few stitches to close it. If you like I can take you to the infirmary and maybe they can do a good enough job you wont get a scar.” Sephiroth said in a hushed tone. She turned her head away slightly and Sephiroth realized his mistake. Her arm, shoulder, and a lot of her back had small scars littering them. He recognized some burn marks, a few from shrapnel, and several that looked to be from blades. She would not care about a new scar. “If you aren’t worried I’ll screw it up, I can stitch it with your kit here.” he purred softly. He had to try to keep from touching the scars, tracing them with his fingers.

Xilianr nodded once “You do it. I trust you.” She looked at him then, a searching look on her face. Maybe she was looking for the rejection she expected the scars to cause. Looking to a SOLDIER to judge a person for their scars was a little ridiculous, Sephiroth though. Sephiroth stood and removed his coat and gloves, hanging them on the standard wall hanger ever dorm had by the door. He adjusted Masamune so that if the door was opened it would not fall, and locked the door, just to be overly cautious of another assault on Shin-ra. Xilianr had removed her boots and was now sitting with her feet up and her back to the middle of the couch. It made it much easier to clean and stitch the wound like this.

Sephiroth walked to the kitchenette and washed his hands and upper arms. Patting them dry with a fist full of towels, he sat down on the couch and fully opened the kit. Putting on some clean gloves Sephiroth started cleaning the wound with the solution and gauze. As he wiped away the blood he could see the wound more clearly. A jagged tear, maybe the behemoth’s horn? Or maybe some of the debris from the collapsed walls she had been knocked into. Either way she should check to be sure her vaccinations are up to date. In the morning. For now she would need to let him patch her up and sleep soon.

He opened the packet for sewing her upand started in. The pain from the needle did not seem to bother her. Her expression was slipping closer to one of sleeping, in fact. Sephiroth looked at the blood on the discarded cloth andwas sure she could not be suffering from blood loss. The wound looked bad but it was not gushing. She could survive without the stitches even, but if she did end up leaving in the morning on a job it could become an issue. One more stitch and he could dress the wound then leave her to the needed rest. Something had taken a lot out of her. Maybe the crying had been about more than just what she had said.

He placed the pad over the finished stitches and started wrapping the bandage around her, keeping the pressure firm as he went. Xilianr had gone so still, letting him move her to what ever position he needed to accommodate his reach. “Xil, are you sure you are alright? You seem pretty out of it.” Sephiroth could not keep the concern from his voice.

She turned her face to him and smiled weakly. “I’m sorry to worry you, I’m fine, really. Just tired. I had been worrying you would be furious with me. Now that you aren’t, it’s like a huge weight is off my shoulders.” The relief in her eyes was so fragile looking. Like the wrong thing might shatter her.

Sephiroth stood up swiftly, busying himselfto keep from doing anything to damage her trust in him. He took off the gloves and the pile of wrappers and tossed them in the trash in the kitchen. Looking in onecupboardthen the next Sephiroth found a glass, opened the fridge, found a bottle of juice, and filled the cup. He walked back over to the couch and handed her the glass. “Drink it all. Then we’ll see if you are safe to sleep.” The idea of leaving did not sit quite right. What if there was something more wrong? Poisoning could have happened from any of the monsters they had been facing. Sleeping on a couch for one night seemed a small price to pay to be sure she did not die. Pity the damn thing was so short. Anyone over 5 feet would find it uncomfortable.

She took the glass and drank the whole thing in a long chug. Pulling the glass away from her lips she seemed to be staring into the bottom of the empty cup. “Sephiroth, would you mind… er… uh… ne-nevermind.” she stammered.

“What Xil?” he asked softly touching her arm to turn her toward him. 

“Would you stay? I do feel out of it. I’d feel better if you were here. Just incase?” She could barely keep looking  at him as she asked, the fear of his possible rejection all over her face. 

“I’ll stay. Don’t worry. Now let’s get you into bed. You need any help with that?” He asked with a slight roguish smirk.

Xilianr smiled back with a playful twinkle in her eye. “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe you should hold my hand while I try?” The sarcasm showed she was feeling a little better already. She rolled her shoulder testing its movement. The gesture did not seem to bother her. She got up, rolling her eyes as she started for the bedroom. Safe to assume she did not need help. Sephiroth took this time to remove his own equipment, his boots and belts. His whole body was sore from the day. Rest was needed by all.

Xilianr returned from behind the folding screen that she had dividing the two spaces since the layout did not actually have a door, or wall for separation. She had changed out of her suit slacks and was in a large shirt that hung down just far enough to cover everything as she moved. His breath caught slightly at the view of her. He had never seen the scar on her thigh before. It was a longer gash than any of the others he had seen on her arms. His expression must have bothered her because she looked down, as if second guessing the wardrobe choice. He moved across the space easily, grabbing her good wrist and turning her back toward him. “I had no idea you had so many scars. Makes sense your keeping them from us. There is no way Genesis or I wouldn’t have know you were a seasoned fighter if we saw these.” He let his figures trace the old faded wounds on her skin. When his hand traced down the one on her thigh he felt her stiffen. “Sorry, did that hurt you?” he asked, his voice breathy.

“No, no, it’s fine.” Her eyes were on his hand tracing the scar. She was taking up a coyness because of his attention. “I…” She trailed off looking first at the couch, then seeming to really look up at Sephiroth, then back to the couch. She sighed with a slightly amused snicker. “If you promise to behave, why don’t you join me in the bed. I’m too hurt to sleep on that and you are over a foot too tall to manage it.”

Sephiroth smiled, letting his fingers fall away from her leg. See, he could behave. He released her wrist and gestured across his heart. “I will be the perfect gentleman.” He really did not want to sleep on that couch. She walked past him, turning off light switches behind him. He went over and started to clime into the bed. Which side did she prefer? The full sized bed was in the corner sothe walls lined the head and one side of it. Xilianr came in and switched off the last light. There was no foot board so when Xilianr came to get into the bed she just climbed up the from the end, sliding between Sephiroth and the wall. He was more than okay with that.

Laying in the dark they both let sleep creep over them. It was odd the thoughts that floated to the top of the mind as slumber closed in.

“Xil?” Sephiroth whisper.

“Yeah?”

“What would you prefer I call you? Now that I know your name is Dominique, I can easily call you that.” he stated. Somehow it had seemed to bother her that she had not told him sooner about her name.

“You can call me whatever you like, really. I don’t get called Xili very often aside from Rufus. But I like whatever you choose to call me. None of it is ‘out of bounds’ for you though. If that is what you are asking.” Her voice had a soft hum of sleep to it.

Sephiroth rolled over to face her. “Are there names that are out of bounds for others?” he had to ask. In the dark with only the faintest light casting a glow in the room, her mako infused eyes seemed almost ethereal. He realized his own must be equally striking.

“No one in the Turks would be brazen enough to call me Xil. Not even Reno, and he and I are pretty close. They just know the name has too much sentiment to me. You and Genesis can keep calling me that though. It’s nice having someone call me that.” her words were getting longer from sleep dragging her under, her eyelids dropping.

Sephiroth gently stroked her cheek, “Alright Xil. You rest now. We can talk in the morning.” he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

“Good… night… Sephi…”she got out just as sleep overcame her.

“Goodnight, Xili.” and Sephiroth closed his eyes, letting the sound of her breathing set him drifting away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As tagged this was a writing exercise I did. If you would like to comment on the story I would love to hear anything you have to say, just keep criticisms constructive please. 
> 
> A kudo is a pat on the back letting me know I "done good, Kid." 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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